Castle in the Sky
by acaciacelestial
Summary: Rey's dreams and her destiny are intertwined, and she is desperate to understand. The connection she has with Kylo Ren, however, continues to get in the way. Saving his life might have been the biggest mistake of her life- or it may have been the key to finding what she seeks above all else. An interpretation of what could have happened at the end of TFA. Rated M for safety.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The day had been full of surprises, he thought to himself. His eyes darted around, surveying the flurry of movement within the loading dock of some far off Rebellion base. Kylo Ren lie prone, strapped down to a gurney, a medical droid putting work in on his various injuries from the battle. He was much, much calmer than he had expected himself to be, given the situation; Perhaps the exhaustion and pain had lulled him. Perhaps it is shock.

Either way, he lie, and the pain his body felt slowly resided. Kylo absently rubed his wrist against the bonds he was secured by. They chafed him; between the bonds that the wretched girl had put on him in the Millennium Falcon, moments after the spacecraft had cleared the implosion of Starkiller Base, and the decidedly nicer ones he is trapped in now, he was certain his wrists had been rubbed raw. Kylo's brain was too exhausted to attempt to reason out why the girl saved him- the look of hatred she had given him prior to the ship jumping to hyper speed had seemed to only equal his own. His body had been nearly too much for her, he knew. He'd been drifting through consciousness, but he had still been capable of feeling her tired body struggle beneath his weight. He had lost consciousness fully once the ship's captain, the pilot who had begun ruining his plans, had begun incessantly shouting at the girl for dragging him on. Kylo was glad of that, to say the least.

The med droid finished, and moments later it's counterpart appeared to take him to MedBay to rest. Prior to his departure, the med droid issueed him an anesthetic to subdue him. His eyes drifted shut, and he does not wake for many hours. His dreams were dotted with half remembered screams and flashes of blinding blue.

* * *

"Rey, why the hell is that piece of wannabe Sith scum on my base?" Commander Statura, asked, his voice an octave from shouting. Rey looked out from the window of the commander's office, her tired mind struggling to piece together the logic of her spur of the moment decision. Dalastine's singular moon was rising, it's reflection in the nearby sea illuminating the sky ever so slightly.

"Commander Statura, I know my actions were hasty, and dangerous.. And I guess they still are dangerous, but when I reached the Falcon I looked back, and Kylo Ren was lying there, but his energy had changed… I can't put it into words, but it wasn't him I saved."

"Oh, wonderful. You do realise that you've brought on the eye of the First Order, right? You do realise that right now, they are out there, regrouping, and they will very shortly want back their knight of Ren. And then, they will come for us. Who knows how long it will take them to find this base!" The Commander looked at her, his eyes full of stress. She sighed inwardly, her guilt and worry tangible but hidden beneath a desperate need for a shower, some food, and a cozy barrack. She had had too much today. She had fought the hardest battle of her life, she had watched as her first friend in her memory had been struck down, had dragged his unresponsive body back to safety. And then, for some reason she could not understand, she had saved the life of a man who had caused her nothing but trouble. A man who had killed the father figure she had dreamt after her since her own family had disappeared all those years ago.

In short, Rey had had enough.

"Commander, I apologise. I swear that we will sort this problem out as soon as possible. However, We blew up the First Order's biggest command base and devastated their numbers, without a doubt. I cannot see them being able to regroup and locate us within the next several hours. I understand your concern, sir, but I have to sleep." She stared him down, her eyes exhausted, her face and body covered in every type of filth imaginable. Commander Statura paused, a resigned look passing over his face as he nodded.

"Alright. Report to my office tomorrow at noon. The General should arrive by then."

Rey made her way to the mess hall, collecting a tray full of the planet's fresh produce and a package of protein, much like the ones she had collected from the junker's office on Jakku. As she ate, she couldn't help but think about how radically her life had been altered, all in what felt like a moment's time. Days ago, she had been watching time pass on the steel wall in her makeshift home, collecting synapses and other scraps from the wreckage of machines whose stories she did not know. Now, she sat, in a system she had never heard the name of, on a planet with oceans, and only one moon, and food that didn't always come in plastic. Her nerves were frayed, her body ached. She felt the unwelcome push of tears, and willed them away. _Not now_.

She finished her meal, took herself to the women's quarters, and cleaned up in a bathroom with a clean, white shower, where a droid provided her with a fresh change of clothes, taking her soiled ones away for mending and cleaning. She lingered in the shower, taking full advantage of both the MedWash setting and the hot, glorious, non-commodity water. Her aches and pains began to dissipate, and she sighed, tenderly stretching her arms.

Once Rey climbed into her bed, a short while later- a real bed, one awarded to her based on her status, a privilege which she eagerly accepted- her body melted into the covers, but her brain would not stop running through it's paces. Finally, the tears she had earlier shoved away, slid down her cheeks, her body wracked with hiccuping sobs.

She thought back to Maz Kanata, to the lightsaber that rested on the table beside her bed. Why her? Who in the universe was she, and why her? Rey tossed and turned until a while later, when the weight of her sheer exhaustion became too much.

* * *

Morning came too soon. Rey awoke to a messenger droid rapping on her door, alerting her to the arrival of the General, and reminding her of her meeting. She checked the time- three hours before she was expected. She dressed herself in the sturdy brown pants and grey shirt that were common uniform around the base. Her feet ached as she slipped on her boots; In fact, it would have been hard for her to name a part of her that did not ache. Her arms screamed as she arranged her hair in the three buns she was accustomed to.

She exited the room, her lightsaber attached at her waist. When she walked through the base to the mess hall, she felt the eyes of all she passed, and wondered if perhaps it would have been smarter to leave the weapon behind. She was beginning to understand why Jedi all wore those ridiculous robes.

One pair of eyes fell upon her, and her joy was suddenly incandescent. Poe waved her down in the mess hall, beckoning her to join him. She loaded a tray up, her appetite even more intense than it had been the nght before. When Rey took a seat besides Poe, he tossed an arm around her shoulder.

"Hey there, Jedi," He said, smiling. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, after a bit. Once i made it to bed I was still full of the energy." Poe nodded.

"Yeah, that tends to happen after battle. You'll get used to it."

"You heard about Finn at all? I haven't had time to visit him." Rey asked, her mouth full. She looked at Poe while she chewed. He looked down, unable to meet her eyes for a moment. He shook his head, his worry tangible to her.

"Well, good then. What's you say about us popping down to the MedBay for a visit? I've got some time to kill before I meet with the General and Commander."

"Yeah, I'd like that." Poe smiled. They ate the rest of their meal with only the lightest of conversation. Poe cracked jokes and they discussed flight engines, Poe explaining to her how he'd been trying to figure out what it was that made those TIE fighters go like they did.

As they walked to the MedBay, Rey couldn't help but wonder if she would catch a glimpse of Kylo Ren. She wasn't sure what would happen if she did. The sense of the energy he had had, lying there prone, was so strange. She had always felt the energies of those around her, but had chalked it up as something everyone could do. With him though, she had almost felt as if someone were begging her to rescue him, but she heard no words. She only felt the ghost of intent.

The door to the MedBay rose at their approach, and inside it was a quiet flurry of motion. Many of their fighters had been injured in yesterday's battle, and seeing their bodies lay motionless, surgical droids and med droids hovering about them, was definitely sobering. Rey suddenly felt incredibly lucky that she had not been more injured, that she had slept in her own bed, that she had had breakfast beside her friend. Her eyes darted about eagerly, hoping to catch sight of Finn. Poe beat her to it, grabbing her hand and dragging her through the beds.

"Finn!"He gasped, his voice the loudest sound in the bay. They stopped short of his bed. Finn lay prone, a med droid passing over his ribcage, healing his broken bones slowly. They could mend cuts and replace body parts in moments- typically no more than a matter of hours, even for the hardest of surgeries. Bones took a bit longer to mend.

Rey touched Finn's cheek gingerly, the slight prick of his facial hair rough beneath her palm. Poe grasped Finn's hand, His face shot with worry. They stood in silence, watching the beam pass over Finn with a nearly imperceptible mechanical whirr. After a moment, Rey looked up, smiling slightly at Poe.

"Hey, I'm gonna go have a look around. Wanna stay here and we can meet up later?" Poe nodded, leaving Finn's side to pull up a chair.

"Rey? If I'm still here later, do me a favor and bring some X-Wing schematics from repairs. I have a couple ideas I wanna work on."

"Of course. Be good now." He grinned up at her, and she walked on, surveying the beds as she left the bay. She couldn't help but noticing that Kylo Ren was nowhere to be seen.

Rey decided to take her remaining time outside. She exited the base, and suddenly the warm morning sun washed over her, and she felt normal. The world around her was verdant, the sand the purest white she'd ever seen. She pulled off her boots, making her way across the beach. She stood in the tide, the cold water nipping at her toes.

"it's beautiful, isn't it?" She gasped and whirled about, dropping her boots. General Leia Organa stood behind her, the warmest smile she had seen in ages plastered across the woman's face. Rey grinned, closing the space between her and the general. She reached for a handshake, but the General laughed and pulled her in. Rey was amazed at the General's genial demeanor, in the wake of her loss of Han Solo. The hug lasted a long time, the two women exchanging a million words silently. When they broke apart, Leia held Rey's shoulders, beaming.

"I am so happy to see you, Rey. I am glad you're okay." Her smile faltered, but she continued, "I'm glad Han brought you to me. It's been a long time since we had the pleasure of hosting a female Jedi."

"I'm so sorry for your loss. I am sad to have returned without Han. He was an incredible man." Rey decided now was not the time to tell Leia she only knew about Han through smuggling. "When did you guys train a female Jedi? I thought the academy…"

"Oh, my dear girl. You don't get to have Skywalker blood without Jedi getting mixed in there somewhere. I picked Han over finishing my training, though." Leia smiled fondly.

"Oh, wow- that's, that's brave of you…" Rey fumbled.

"Oh, brave had nothing to do with it. I was head over heels in love! I would have fought a million storm troopers to the death if it meant I got to have the life I did with that stubborn old coot." Leia sighed, threading her arm through Reys. "Come now, we're expected elsewhere."

* * *

General Leia Organa Solo easily took control of the situation which Commander Statura had been incapable of handling the day before. He sat behind his desk, his body and face visibly relaxing with every word. His lieutenants stood aside, quietly listening and awaiting orders.

Rey sat as the General explained her plan. She spoke of Kylo Ren without a trace of emotion, which surprised Rey. He was her son, and he was the murderer of her husband. It was more impressive than if she had disassembled the Falcon's hyper speed controls and put it back together in five minutes time.

"Commander, I will be taking Kylo Ren with me to the Sullust System, where I will personally oversee his captivity. Rey with accompany me with a small guard to aid in his safe transportation. From there, we will continue our search for Luke Skywalker. Am I understood?" Statura nodded.

"Yes, General Organa. When do you intend to depart?" Statura stood, making his way around the desk.

"We will depart aboard my ship first thing tomorrow morning. See to it that the ship is supplied by then- and also, please have the Millennium Falcon loaded into the hangar. Rey will be in need of it later."

"General," Rey interrupted, "If it's okay, I'd like to load her myself. She's a bit… tricky."

"Of course." Leia allowed. The meeting broke up, Commander Statura clasping General Organa's hand. Rey waited for her by the office exit.

"You sounded just like Han. He would be happy to know his ship will be cared for well." Leia paused as they walked on. "I am happy to know his ship is cared for. I'm happy it's still going to fly. He deserves know, I wish he had been a Jedi. Their spirits have this habit of showing themselves to you as time goes on."

"Really?" Rey asked.

"Oh yes, I'm sure once we find Luke you'll experience it yourself. When I took my position as commander, I saw my father again. He told me he was proud. I nearly fell of a balcony, I was so surprised."

"But wasn't Darth Vader consumed by the dark side of the Force?"

"Not in death, no. Luke brought him back, moments before he died. He look so young, Rey! So young and fresh, his face so kind. He was Anakin again."

The pair did not speak for a long while, both caught within their own thoughts. Rey wondered about the family she could not remember. Perhaps one day, when she was a real Jedi, she would see them. She hoped that it would not come to that. The world had been too cruel to her to take that family away before she ever got to see them in again in this life. Eventually, the pair reached the bay in which Leia's ship was docked, and Leia embraced her, and gave her direction to alert Chewy that he would be departing in the morning. Rey nodded, slipping away into the crowd of rebels busy loading supplies onto the general's ship.

Rey made her way to repairs, her mind back on food. Her tired body wanted nothing but nourishment and sleep, and she resolved that she would soon have both. As she walked into the repairs bay, something stopped her in her tracks.

Her heart quickened. The presence, the feeling that Kylo Ren had emanated before touched her conscience, and she looked around, frantic. This was not the one she had heard before she pulled him onto the ship. This was the one she had felt when he had ripped into her mind. This was the darkness in him. Rey felt him wash over her, felt his anger and struggle. For a moment, she caught a glimpse of a med droid hovering, injecting into a darkly clad leg. She felt Kylo's Panic and his rage grow… And then it was gone.

Rey pulled back into herself, shaking. She suddenly wished she had not brought him aboard. She hurried to grab the schematic Poe had requested, and hesitantly made her way back to the MedBay. Poe sat in his chair, his head slumped in his arms over the edge of Finn's bed.

"Poe…" She whispered, smoothing her hand over his back. He awoke with a jolt, his body tensing and relaxing once he saw her.

"Oh, hey." His voice was tinged with sleep. If she had to guess, he had crashed shortly after her departure hours earlier. She brandished the schematics in his face, and he grinned at her, his eyes suddenly alive.

"Awesome! I was just telling Finn here all about my idea."

"Oh, did he wake up?"

"Um.." Poe looked embarrassed, and she could hardly keep from smiling. "No. I heard that if you spoke to someone who's comatose they can hear you. Can't have him thinking I abandoned him in his hour of need. We'd never hear the end."

"So true. Well, I'd love to sit and chat with you boys, but I think i'm just going to have some rest. I'm departing with General Leia in the morning, so you better take care of him. Shoot me a holo when he comes to, will you?" Poe smiled and stood, giving her a hug.

"Be safe out there, Jedi." She nodded, and slipped out of the MedBay.

Rey stopped for a quick dinner, spotting Chewy as she did so. He seemed pleased to leave the base for somewhere he was familiar with. As soon as she finished, she made her way to her room, ready to luxuriate in the feeling of soft sheets wrapped around her. She was unsure when she would next have the opportunity. As she stripped down and settled herself in the bed, she found that she was lucky. Sleep took her within moments.

 _She was running, but she wasn't scared. The world around her was so bright- she had never seen anything like it before. Tall grasses and flowers grew around her, and laughter bubbled out of her. Bliss such as this felt alien, yet she remembered._

" _Rey!" A woman's voice called. She turned, and there she stood- a lovely woman in a white frock, rushing towards her. As she drew nearer, her face stayed hazy. Rey knew it was her mother, but she could not remember much but her blur. She ran to her, slamming into her mother's shins, her arms wrapping around them. Her mother laughed._

" _Come now, Papa is waiting for you!" Her mother said, sweeping her off her feet. As her mother turned, Rey glimpsed a gleaming white castle in the distance._

Rey awoke, unsure if she had dreamt, or remembered.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hi there! If you've read this far, thank you! I've never written a Star Wars fic before, so I'm sorry for the incredible slow burn here. I'm building up a world and a kind of elaborate plot. I've got a lot of ideas! I promise we'll start getting to the fun stuff in the next chapter.

Reviews and suggestions are absolutely appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Rey and Chewy sat together in the cockpit of the the Millennium Falcon, slowly guiding it through the mouth-like entrance to the Tantive VIII. Rey yawned, and the wookie looked at her, and asked if she had slept all right.

"Ah, Chewy, I slept fine. Just had a funny dream is all." He nodded, and together they landed the ship. Chewy stayed aboard the ship- He felt more comfortable there than anywhere near the evil thing that had killed his lifelong best friend. Rey understood; However, she was not quite so lucky.

The General met her at the base of the Falcon's entrance, and together they went inside the base once more. While passing the MedBay, Rey peered inside, happy to see Poe talking at Finn while he wrote notes in the margins of the schematic she had brought him. She made a mental note to holo him when she got bored and ask him about his grand plans. Rey, Leia, and five other rebels, each armed with blasters, walked past the MedBay and into a side chamber. Commander Statura awaited her. A guard stood beside him, and at his signal, he unlocked a large clear door. On the other side, a figure lay. Since the last time Rey had felt Kylo Ren, she noticed that the medical attendants had stripped the black robes off him, replacing them with all grey. The uniform was prisoner's attire, she realised. A box sat on a table nearby, where Kylo's saber and clothes had been stored, and Rey watched at General Organa took it in her arms.

"Thank you, commander. That will be all." Leia said, and the commander gave a small bow of the head. Rey stepped up, the head of the group, and took charge of the hovering gurney Kylo rested on. She placed her hand on a small scanner on the side, and the gurney's programming activated, following her. She stood at the head, and the five other rebels fanned out around. General Leia led the progression onto the ship, where they stored the sleeping man in a chamber on the second floor. Rey led the gurney into the room, where a med droid awaited.

"FX-12, when he begins to come around, alert the guard stationed at the door, and keep his sedated enough so as not to become violent. I would like to speak with him." Leia commanded. The droid beeped a quick affirmative, and began to assess the vitals of its patient. Rey disengaged the gurney, and the party left the room. Leia assigned one of the guard to stand watch. Rey and Leia walked along, Leia pointing out people and points of interest along her ship.

"This ship is one of many. During the Galactic Civil War, Darth Vader caught the Tantive IV and destroyed it." The pair began to near the command room, where the ship's captain and crew were preparing for departure. Rey had never been on a ship quite so large, and was excited to view the process.

"Why was he after you?" Rey responded.

"I had hidden some information away in a droid." Almost as if it had heard it's name, BB-8 rolled up, a whirl of happy chirping noises.

"Haha! Sounds familiar. Hi BB-8. You're looking a bit less dinged up. Aren't you supposed to stay with Poe, though?" She asked it.

"He is. You don't think the General would depart planet without her best pilot, would you?" Poe walked up, his orange flight helmet tucked under his arm. "I just set Finn in the MedBay. The droids say he's pretty much healed, and should be awake in a few hours. We're in it together, Jedi." Rey grinned brightly at him. As a group, they approached the command center, and Rey stood to the side as Leia took her seat, overseeing the departure of the ship.

Rey had recently learned how much she truly loved these moments. The feeling of departure- much as she would have loved to stick around some planets and explore them, see all the foreign life and landscapes that she hadn't ever dreamt of imagining, something about space called to her. Something about the mystery and the sameness of the skies around exhilarated her.

The ship took off, Poe and a team of pilots safely seeing it out of Dalastine's atmosphere. The Tantive VIII would be heading to Glee Anselm, a planet that had seen rebel activity many times in the past. It was an ideal planet, located close to the Namadii Corridor, a hyperspace route connecting the inner rim and Corellia and allowed for transit across the Correlian Run which allowed them quick passage to the Slice, the Trailing Sectors, and the Western Reaches. It had long been a safe place for the New Republic's forces, a friendly planet that had waged many battles in the name of peace. For Rey, it was the farthest she had reached in space.

The journey would last perhaps two days, if all went well. General Leia wished to minimize use of the hyperspace passages for the moment, for worry that their signal would be picked up. They were only to be used in emergency. Rey watched as a crew of ten worked. Navigators tapped in coordinates on holonet maps, while pilots operated shields and cloaking devices, steering the large ship safely out of the distance of any planet and preparing the craft for hyperspeed. As the final sequences were initiated, Rey left the command deck.

She made her way through the ship, back to where the Millennium Falcon was seated. She boarded the old, junky craft, her fingers rolling over the steel lovingly. Today, she would work on the damages the Starkiller battle had inflicted on her baby. Chewy sat at the table, and roared softly at her. She smiled, picking up a tool belt.

"Come on, Chewy. This ship needs some serious work."

* * *

Several greasy hours later, Rey emerged from the bowels of the ship, happy that the craft's gunner now had full mobility again. She had also replaced the out of date tractor beam emitters, and hoped that after dinner she would get a chance to test them. Perhaps Poe would be willing to fly with her. Chewy sat inside the cockpit, a grate open to a multiplicity of wires where he was working to improve the communications system so that their signal would be less noticeable. Rey remembered how easy it had been for Han to track her, and had vowed to make the ship as good a vessel as it deserved to be.

"Chewy, I'm headed to dinner. You wanna come?" The wookie declined. Rey had a feeling he was mourning the loss of his friend in his own, solitary way. After all, he didn't like many people. "Alright. I'll bring you a tray. Be careful with all those wires."

The ship was relatively quiet, a smooth journey under way. Rey sat in the mess hall alone, quietly eating a pack of rations and some of the wonderful fruit from Dalastine. People laughed and conversed around her, eyes occasionally falling on her. She wished for Finn to wake up. She missed her friend.

A trip to the infirmary later proved unfruitful. Finn still slept, through she was able now to see the familiar motions of a dreaming person, rather than someone held in coma with drugs. Baby steps, she thought. As she exited, she walked toward where Kylo Ren was being held. A singular guard stood outside, and he looked incredibly uneasy.

"Hey." SHe said. The man did not acknowledge her, which was odd. Something ticked at the edge of her senses- the Force. Sure, she was Force- sensitive, but she had only days ago begun to attune herself to it. Thus far, only in times of extreme concentration was she able to focus it, feel it coursing through her and around her. She had been assured that training with Master Luke would help her master it.

"Excuse me!?" She asked the man again, her voice rising. He trembled and she immediately recognised the look in his eyes. He in a force hold. Rey grabbed for the saber at her waist and pushed the man out of the way, forcing her way into the atrium.

Kylo Ren lay in front of her, his eyes full of rage. He raged against the bonds, a shout emerging from him. Rey stood calmly as she could, reaching her conscious at him as he had on Starkiller Base.

 _Be calm,_ she urged. _You are safe._ Kylo roarer in response, his hair a mad flurry around his face.

"THIS ISN'T SAFE!" He screamed. His body struggled against the bonds, before dropping back against the gurney. His chest heaved. Rey chanced a step forward, her hand alighting on the glass.

 _I know you're not all dark. I felt it._ She thought. He looked up at her, his eyes angry.

"You didn't feel anything. The light in me died along with my father, as it should." Kylo spat.

"No it didn't. If it had, you would be dead in the wreckage of Starkiller Base. Perhaps it would have been better. Perhaps I made a mistake." She sighed. "Master Luke freed Darth Vader's soul from the Darkness, you know. You don't have to be like this." Her voice had dwindled to a whisper, remembering the terrible moment when she had watched Han Solo die. Rey turned without another glance at Kylo Ren and exited. The man who had been standing guard lay on the ground outside the cell, and she knelt to him.

"Help!" She shouted, knowing full well it would do her no good to leave Kylo Ren unguarded. She checked for his pulse, worry beginning to pulse through her. "Help!"

A med droid toddled out curiously, speeding to her aid. She let it work on the man, giving him an injection to bring him around. He looked at her wildly.

"I know you're weak, but can you walk?" She asked. He nodded. "What's your name?"

"L-Lux, Ma'am." He replied.

"Okay Lux, I need you to find General Organa or Poe Dameron. Send them here. Tell them Rey is looking." He stood and walked unsteadily off.

"Are you in need of further assistance?" The droid asked, its voice a distant drone. Rey shook her head, settling herself into a crouch with her back braced against the wall. She had made such a stupid mistake, saving this wretched man's life. She longed suddenly to be back aboard the Falcon, elbow deep in sensor jammers and encryption modules. When she was working, her mind was at ease.

 _That ship is a load of garbage. Even the X Wings are nicer, and that's saying a lot._ Kylo whispered into her mind. SHe Jumped slightly.

 _Get out of my mind._

 _Stop shouting your thoughts for the the whole damn world to hear._ Rey huffed, putting up what mental blocks she could conjure. She felt his presence at the edge of her mind, distantly feeling the anger and fear that filled him. She decided to plunge back into his mind.

Kylo Ren was full of fear, she sensed, above anything. He hated being bound, and he feared the sight of his mother. He could feel her every where- her bright light filled his mental plane. The only rival she had in that sense was the damn scavenger girl-

Rey was shut out then, but she'd seen enough. She was smugly pleased with herself for calling the General here. Watching Kylo Ren squirm under his mother's gaze would be an interesting exchange.

* * *

Leia sat silently on a bench she had summoned the Kylo Ren's chamber. She clasped her hands calmly in front of her, staring at her son. Ben had been such a sweet boy- a little slow to grasp his training, but she still remembered the laughter that he had spewed when he was three years old, perched upon his father's lap in the Falcon.

"Ben, when you're old enough, this ship will be yours. There isn't a ship in the whole galaxy that's faster!" Ben looked up at Han, his eyes full of wonder.

"Daddy, really?" He squealed, his little voice filling the cavern. Leia had watched from behind, unseen.

"Yes Ben!" Han said. He then reached over the boy, pulling the ship's steering wheel down for flight. Chewy sat beside him. "Chewy, whatcha say about a little ride around the planet? I think my boy here could be our third co-pilot." The wookie cooed kindly, and the ship took off. Leia's heart had been so full, then.

She pulled back from reverie, watching her son raise his head to look at her. Those eyes could never lie to her. Han, yes- but never her.

And right now, she saw fear. She saw his wrists trembling in their bonds, his neck straining to hold his head.

"I missed you, Ben." He stared at her, with the same look he'd given her as a boy when he wanted to disagree with her. She wondered sometimes how that timid boy had become this man before her.

"My name isn't Ben. He is dead." Leia feigned surprise.

"Dead men don't get to talk back at their mothers, Ben. You seem to be doing just that, however."

"You are not my mother!" Kylo shouted, shaking his dark hair. Leia sat stock still, years in the turbulent senate making her perfectly cozy with the shouts of others. "My mother is the darkness. My name is Kylo Ren."

"Sounds a whole lot like Solo, Ben, son. I know you were raised to be more creative than that." She was needling him, but he deserved it. He deserved much more than that, really.

"I AM A KNIGHT OF REN!" The boy shouted, his head dropping. She watched as he breathed, and she knew he was attempting a breathing technique Luke had taught him.

"Knights of Ren don't need to use Jedi meditation." She stood, approaching the glass. "I'm assigning Padawan Rey to come to you, to probe your mind. We're going to bring you back, Ben." Her fingers pressed against the glass, and she watched her son's eyes flicker open. Her own Jedi senses, ill adapted as they were, could touch his presence. The darkness help him, but she felt the light, weak and deep, somewhere inside him. His struggles between light and dark were not over.

* * *

The next morning, Rey awoke early. She made her way to the sparring rooms, her staff in hand and her lightsaber on her hip. The General's Assignment had lit inside her a feeling of fury, and she needed to work her body. She needed to sparr, to exhaust her muscles, and to bring peace to her mind.

She summoned a droid who was designed to spar. She'd never used them, but a couple carcasses had found their way to Jakku. The droid, a skeletal biped in design, walked up to her, presenting a panel on it's back, where she dialed in her desired settings. When it backed away from her, summoning a steel staff much like hers, she centered her focus.

The patterns of sparring were familiar to her body. She was used to fighting for her life, but only recently had it been something other than bullying or the elements themselves. As she worked, landing hits, decreasing the power bar displayed on the droid's chest, she thought back to her battle with Kylo Ren, on the snowy Starkiller.

She recalled the way she had summoned the Force, using it's might to guide her body in it's forms. She wheeled back from the droid, breathed deeply, and willed herself to become one with the Force around her.

It came on all at once. The ship pulsed with activity. She could feel the gentle life that filled every soul, the light, the dark, and the soft flow of force in the stars. She was conscious of planets, of different planes, of things she could not fully describe. She opened her eyes, zeroing this incredible feeling in on her opponent. Her body flew towards the droid, and she slid between it's legs moments before it attempted a down swing at her. She rose behind it, landing a hit on it's shoulder. The droid spun, jabbing- but it left it's side open. Rey danced around it, a grace she could not typically claim possessing her. Her staff found it's way into the droid, and it reared once more, before it's program shut it down and restarted it. The droid returned to the hall it had come from, and Rey rose from the crouch she'd rolled into. Her body heaved, and she felt peace.

She was ready to see Kylo Ren.

* * *

Author's Note:

Well, these chapters are flying. I'm working really hard on researching the universe, but it's so fuckin' big! If I've made any mistakes here, let me know. I'm always happy to receive feedback on my work, especially since I've been out of the fanfiction game for a couple years.

I apologise once more for the slow pace of this story. I'm still feeling out it's true course. I'm pretty sure, though, that the next chapter will cement what happens next. Thanks for reading and following!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Rey sits on the bench, her eyes closed. She reaches forward with her consciousness, the light within her firmly seated in her heart. She has never before felt like this for such a long time, but she intends to use it fully.

Kylo Ren's conscience sits, a storm on her serene horizon. She can feel his eyes boring into her, but she is unfazed. She persists further, pushing gently at his mind. He resists.

 _Come on, Ren. Fighting me doesn't help you._

 _I have no interest in helping you, scavenger wench. Stay away from me._ In his push to her mind, she sees the weakness in his defense, and pushes gently at them. She persists, and he fights, but he is not so in touch with the Force as she is, right this moment. She concentrates harder, persisting past her own fears of revealing herself to him. Her mind is just as vulnerable to him as his is becoming to hers, as had demonstrated on Starkiller Base when he'd searched her mind.

Her efforts were rewarded, suddenly, and she rushed him, pressing against the darkness that inhabited his mind and soul. She expanded her presence in him, willing the light in her to seek the light in him. He pushed back, flooding her with memories. She saw Han Solo's face as Kylo Ren's saber had shot through him, felt the dark rush of power. She pushed back, remembering the look on Han's face as they steered the Falcon together. Ren shrunk back at that. She knew she had struck a nerve there, and followed it.

Kylo's memories of han were tinged with regret, and anger, and a deep, twisted love. Rey knew the love he had for his father existed even still. She pushed, and she saw glimpses of Han's young, handsome face through the eyes of Ben Solo. Ben chased after his father, his laughter shrieking across the landscape. Small bear- like creatures paid the boy no mind as he ran after father over tiny wooden bridges, his leather clad feet clumsily padding over jungle floor. Suddenly, Han appeared, swooping the boy up, and wrapping him in a hug.

Rey was hit, then, with the might of Kylo Ren's mental force. He propelled her out, an incredible stream of anger.

"STAY OUT OF THERE!" Kylo screamed, and she pulled her eyes open, her mouth forming a small O of surprise. She felt her focus and center slip away from her. Kylo Ren's face is red, and she notices tears building in his eyes. He stared at her, with the weight of a lifetime of pain expressed so clearly in his face. She can feel it, though. She can feel the energy in him, the Light, that had made her save him. It stood now at the forefront of him, in the tears that threatened to escape.

"Ben," Rey breathed, almost afraid. She stood, approaching the glass, and sunk to her knees, looking up at the man on the other side. He stared at her, and she reached out once more.

 _It's okay, Ben._ In response, Kylo Ren howled, his body yet again attempting to escape it's restraints. She felt him trying to muster the Force, trying to send angry fragments at her, trying to injure her. She had broken whatever balance he had had, just as he had done to her.

Rey never thought she would feel for Kylo Ren, but her heart dropped at the sight of him. How a person could live with so many terrible things so constantly at odds within them, she could not understand. She felt the depths of his love and the depth of his hate, all in equal measure, turbulent as an ocean planet in a storm. She felt, in her constant, just heart, a complex sense of compassion. She watched him feel so many things he had rejected for another moment, her mind a blank slate, nothing but raw emotion on her mental plane.

Rey stood, then, and left wordlessly.

* * *

Rey knew she was supposed to report to the general after her session, but she was too overwhelmed. She wandered the cold steel corridors of the Tantive VIII, her feet bringing her to the MedBay. Her mood considerably brightened when she looked over to the bed Finn was in, and saw him sitting up, a bowl of food in hand, and the ever vigilant Poe Dameron sitting beside his bed, pointing out something in a notebook. The two noticed her, and she hurried over to them, a grin spread over her face.

"Finn! You're okay!" She gently wrapped her arms around his neck, fearful of causing him any pain.

"Hi Rey," Finn said, returning her hug. "Long time, no see. Glad you made it out of that forest."

"I am too, coz otherwise you wouldn't have!"

"Hey, Rey, how was your session with Kylo Ren?" Poe asked. "I was telling Finn about it earlier."

"Yeah, why the hell did you save him anyway?" Finn looked at her like she was crazy, and she struggled for the words.

"it's complicated," She replied after a moment. "It's a Force thing, you know? Like how you always hear those stories about Jedis feeling disturbances in the force, and what not. But it wasn't a disturbance- Kylo Ren is the disturbance. What he's trying to hide is in tune with the Light, and that's what tears him up. I saw it today."

Poe and Finn looked at her, processing her words.

"Well, I guess that makes sense. This Force thing you've got going on is wild." Finn shook his head, leaning back into his pillows.

"Yeah, let's ignore that for now. When can we get you out of this bed?" Rey sat herself at the end of said bed.

"I could probably get up anytime now. It's just nice to sit around after everything, and have people bring you things and take care of you… Come to think of it, I've never actually gotten to do any of this before." Finn sat quietly for a moment, a little smile flitting over his face.

"Well, come on." Poe told him, standing. "If you wanna help me with these X Wing Fighter schematics, we should do it before we land in Glee Anselm."

"Whoa, we're going that far? What's there?" Poe shrugged.

"I just follow general's orders. You know anything about it, Jedi?"

"It's friendly to the New Republic and close to light speed trade routes. that's all i know. Also, I'm not a Jedi, Poe." Poe chuckled at her.

"Not yet, but you will be. You've even got the color scheme down." Rey beamed at him, and stood.

"Well, I've got some work to do on the Falcon. If you boys need me, I'll be there. Finn, I'm happy to see you awake. I missed you." Finn nodded his agreement, a small smile on his face.

"Thanks for saving me, Rey."

* * *

Rey had lied when she said she had work to do. Truth be told, she wanted nothing more than to climb into the cockpit of her ship and fly away with Chewy, somewhere where life made a little more sense. Chewy was, sad to say, getting older, and a little slower. She grew fonder of the furball every day and she had been put through enough loss to know she didn't want to witness him go, too.

Rey walked into the common space of the Falcon and peered around at the dust that lay over some of the surfaces, at the broken consoles and bunks where the fabric wore thin and threatened to tear anyday.

"Rey?" A voice asked. She jumped as Leia walked from the cockpit. "Oh, good. Sit, let's talk."

"I'm sorry I didn't report to you immediately, General Organa, I just… I was overwhelmed." She sat at the round table beside the older woman.

"I know. I felt you snap. After your training session this morning, you radiated through the Force."

"Really?"

"Absolutely. I'm certain Kylo Ren felt every step you took. Light like that is so hard to ignore." Rey nodded.

"Well, getting into his mind was… Much, much easier than I anticipated. When he entered my mind last, he tried so hard…" Rey took a breath, thinking her next words through. "Well, when I made it in, I felt so much of his anger. I saw so many things- terrible things, to start with, and then beautiful things. I saw him, as a boy, with a bunch of strange small bear people, running after… After Han Solo… They were both so young…"

"They're called ewoks…" Leia breathed, her face filled with sadness. She reached out and grasped the younger girl's hand. "We were part of their tribe… They helped us destroy the Sith. When Ben was young we took him to meet the ewoks… Goodness, how that boy loved them."

"He was a very sweet boy." Rey replied quietly.

"Yes, he was. i would very much like to have my son back… Even after all he has done."

"General Organa…" Rey began. She was hesitant to offer her help, but she remembered Finn's mantra- _It's the right thing to do._ "I must admit, I find it difficult to go into that man's mind. But if it will help you, I will continue. I want nothing more than to be of aid to you."

"Are you certain?" Rey nodded. "Alright. But only for a short period. Finding Luke will be priority- We must train you properly."

The general excused herself, and Rey sat with her thoughts, exhausted by her day. She soon retrieved a sleep pack and settled into one of the bunks. Chewy had beaten her, she saw, and rested comfortably in an extra long sized bunk. He did not stir as she climbed quietly over him.

Sleep took her shortly after, passing over her in increments.

* * *

 _She sat quietly beneath a tree, eating it's ripe, sweet fruit. It was her favorite kind, the gapanga. Beside her, her great uncle sat, his blue cloak spread beneath them. Rey chattered happily about how excited she was for the planet's odupiendo races to being._

" _Uncle, do you think I could ever race?" She asked. Her uncle smiled down at her, his blue eyes squinting in the sunlight._

" _My dear, I think you would be the best racer in the galaxy! You're so smart and fast." She beamed up at him._

" _I wanna do that. I don't wanna be a jedo, uncle. I wanna fly stuff and go faster, faster." The little girl wrinkled her nose, her eyebrows drooping. "Mama says i gotta, though. She says there's not enough jedos left."_

" _It's a Jedi, Rey. Why don't you want to be a Jedi?"_

" _Coz they never have any fun. Mama's always gone and when she's home she's so serious all the time!" The girl huffed, and plopped backward, the soft grass at the base of the tree cradling her head. "And I miss daddy, uncle."_

" _I know, sweetheart. Would you like to know something?" The girl looked up at him, her brown eyes giant orbs. The man could only think how deeply she resembled his niece- except for those eyes. Rey's eyes were her father's. But, come to think of it, so was her demeanour. Her father's independent spirit and relentless sense of exploration lived on in his daughter. Rey nodded, shoving the last bite of fruit into her mouth._

" _My sister- your grandmother- didn't want to be a Jedi either. In fact, we didn't know she was till much later. When she went to the Jedi training academy, I was so jealous!"_

" _But why, Uncle?"_

" _Because I knew that Jedi have the most interesting lives. They fly, and the fight with lightsabers, and they make sure there's good left in the world." Rey's eyes lit up. "Now, sweetheart, don't you want to live a life like that?"_

" _I guess… But only coz I get to fly!" At that, she stood and ran circles around her uncle, making whirring noises like the odupiendo racers. Her uncle smiled, pride filling his heart. He lifted his eyes. The castle looked marvelous today._

* * *

Rey awoke with a start. Chewy woke too, worried. She jumped from the bunk, dressing quickly, strapping her saber to her waist, and pointedly not answering his questions about her well being. Rey needed someone to answer her questions, and the only person she could think of was Leia- and even then, perhaps not. The wookie followed her as she ran from the spacecraft.

Rey was surprised to see Poe running towards her, flight suit in place.

"Rey! Kylo Ren has escaped. We're on lockdown!"

* * *

Author's Note

Oh my god I just keep getting the bug for this. Huge shouts to Wookiepedia for have a million articles on every little thing so that I can study and lace together crackpot theories.

Hope it's getting better. Questions, comments, predictions- it's all welcome, readers.


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